CFP: Humor in American and European Literature (8/15/07; 11/1/07-11/3/07)

Humor as an art form rarely attracts the serious attention it deserves. East Carolina University intends to correct this omission with an inaugural humor festival and academic conference. The three-day event features a performance festival that includes everything from stand-up and improv comedy to joke contests and silly songs, and an academic conference in which scholars explore humor in literature, dance, film, theater, therapy, and art. The festival provides a rare opportunity for performers, scholars, and students to interact and enjoy humor in all of its forms.

Keynote Speakers: Jill McCorkle, Andrei Codrescu, and Kinky Friedman

CALL FOR PAPERSSubmission deadline: August 15, 2007The conference invites scholarly papers/presentations (15-20 minutes each) that address the categories listed below or any subject of your choice. Submit a 300 word abstract and a one-page CV by August 15, 2007. Please specify any technological needs. Direct inquiries and abstracts to ECUHUMORFEST_at_ecu.edu or to the contacts listed below. Please see our website for the conference at www.ecu.edu/humor/

Conference Panels include the following areas of interest:

European Humor after the Fall of CommunismHumor and the RenaissancePolitical Comedy and TelevisionHumor and HealingPolitical CartoonsTelevision HumorHumor and MusicHumor and HistoryHumor in the SouthSatire and Social ChangeHumor and FilmHumor and DanceHumor and TheaterHumor in the Middle AgesEthnic HumorHumor in Sports

Call for Papers for Panel on "European Humor after the Fall of Communism":

>From the epic clowning of the Italian playwright Dario Fo to the hysterical women of Pedro Almodovar's Spanish films, to Édouard Molinaro with his outrageous Cage aux Folles and Günter Grass's biting novel The Tin Drum, Europe possesses a strong tradition of humor and satire in literature and film. However, since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, many changes have taken place in European politics and culture, including the decline of communism as an ideological alternative to capitalism and the rise of nationalist parties. This panel explores the effects of this political paradigm shift within the genres of humor and satire. Submissions to the panel should focus on broad trends within one or more non-English speaking European countries and situate them within the wider sociopolitical context of the post-communist period. Presentations must be in English with all quotes translated into English or with English subtitles included in film clips. Please su! bmit a 300-word abstract and a one-page CV by August 15, 2007 to Dr. Jill Twark, twarkj_at_ecu.edu

Call for Papers for Panel on "Humor and the Renaissance":

>From the philosophical follies of Thomas More to the wit and pratfalls of commedia del arte and Tudor drama, from Luther's mockery of the Pope to Arcimboldo's sly paintings, from the ironic adventures of Don Quixote to Rabelais' explicit sense of fun, from Shakespeare to (even?) Milton, early modern Europe possesses a strong tradition of humor and satire in literature and the arts.

This panel explores the range of humor in the period. Submissions to the panel are encouraged to be interdisciplinary and should keep in mind broad trends within English and non-English-speaking European countries, including wider sociopolitical contexts. Presentations must be in English with all quotations translated into English.